Powering sustainable urban mobility: How energy-efficient Off-Street Mobility Hubs can balance the grid and enable new value chains.

Sammanfattning

As cities grow and electrify their transport and infrastructure, the demand for reliable and continuous energy supply is increasing. Consequently, distribution grids are experiencing increasing stress due to electrification of transport and rising demand. One approach to addressing this challenge, while avoiding costly grid reinforcement, is to integrate energy considerations at the early design stage of infrastructure. This study develops a data-driven energy modelling framework to analyze and optimize energy use in Off-Street Mobility Hubs (OSMHs), with a focus on quantifying flexibility under different operating conditions. While previous research has explored energy opportunities in mobility hubs, there is limited work on detailed scenario-based flexibility assessments of OSMHs, particularly regarding the integrated modelling of electric vehicle (EV) charging, photovoltaic generation (PV), battery energy storage system (BESS), residential and commercial loads. Furthermore, Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and Vehicle-to-Building (V2B) applications remain underexplored from a system-level modelling perspective in OSMHs. The proposed model is based on a case study of the multifunctional building at Dansmästaren in Uppsala, which includes key energy system components relevant to OSMHs. The model represents energy generation, demand, and storage within the system. Three scenarios are analyzed: peak grid load, peak building load, and peak electric vehicle charging demand. The results demonstrate that coordinated operation of PV, BESS, and smart charging reduced reliance on grid electricity during periods of high demand and increased the self-sufficiency index from 0.00 to 0.32 at 18:00. However, the study is limited to a single case and location-specific assumptions, including electricity pricing in the SE3 price area in Sweden. In addition, V2G and V2B are not implemented in the model but are discussed at a conceptual level. Overall, the findings demonstrate the potential of OSMHs to enhance energy flexibility and revenue through coordinated operation of EV charging, PV, BESS, residential and commercial loads. The study also indicates potential future value streams associated with smart energy management in mobility hubs.